Spider Solo
by turbomagnus
Summary: Nearly every Spider-Man/Justice League crossover has Spider-Man joining the League... What if he chose to remain an independent hero, even in this strange new world.
1. Issue 0

Author's Note: The 365 Project is an experimental _multi-fandom_ project to write and post at least one short every day for the next year, not including my semi-regular bi-weekly updates. For more details, see the relevent section in my profile. This is The 365 Project, 7 July.  
On A Personal Note; It seems that yesterday's entry actually pushed me over the 500k word mark. Yay me...

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Clemens... "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."

Disclaimer: "Spider-Man" is the property of Marvel Entertainment and "Justice League" of DC and Warner Brothers, used for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.

Just a little response to a common theme I've seen in many "Spider-Man joins the Justice League" stories...

* * *

-o0O0o-

"Spider Solo"  
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

-o0O0o-

* * *

It had been a bad day, even by his generous standards. After all, how many days exist where a guy can get served with divorce papers, slandered by the newspapers, end up in a fight against a Mesopotamian god - which was odd, really, because usually it was Greco-Roman or Norse gods - watch helplessly as his own living relative's house was firebombed by one of his arch-enemies, be caught in an explosion while fighting said arch-enemy and nearly die...

And still not get out of it all that easily, instead falling through some kind of dimension portal and ending up in another universe that had absolutely nothing in common with his own besides having its own kind of heroes. The first introduction would probably have gone better had that portal not dropped him right into the middle of a meeting in their secure headquarters, and on their part if they hadn't decided to 'shoot first, ask questions later' and caused years of dealing with NYPD officers who bought into what Jameson sold to kick in and have him toss off a couple one-liners before making a break for it. Okay, maybe not the best thing he could have done in an unknown location surrounded by 'capes' he didn't know, but he didn't know them and he'd been the subject of enough injuries that he tried to avoid them whenever he could - especially considering the way that three of them were using those weapons they had. Sure, he'd been the one to show up unannounced in a secret location, but it's not like he'd had a choice in the matter.

It really was too bad for the red guy that even if he was faster than Quicksilver, he didn't seem to think as fast as Spider-Man's fellow Avenger and ended up falling for the old 'net on the floor' gag.

'Seriously,' Spider-Man had thought to himself as he supplied some extra webbing to hold the guy in place, 'Way too many people fall for things I get from watching Looney Toons.'

He'd gotten Angel's girl-counterpart with some of the 'impact webbing' that his 'brother' Ben had come up with all of those years ago, she'd been too distracted charging him with that mace and when she swung to knock the ball of webbing out of her way, she caused it to activate and caught herself in a web. Unfortunately for Spider-Man, she had distracted him just long enough for that guy that looked like a seasick Xavier to knock him out with some kind of mental whammy.

He really hated it when that kind of thing happened. Every time it did, he ended up helping stock in Tylenol go up while he dealt with the headaches it caused.

* * *

-o0o-

A few days later, Spider-Man stood in the same room he had first arrived in, looking at the members of the 'Justice League' in disbelief.

"Excuse me?"

The guy in primary colors that he'd learned was called Superman repeated what he had said, "We'd like to extend you an offer to join us; become a member of the Justice League."

"That's what it sounded like you said," Spider-Man looked at them as though he thought they were nuts, "Are you kidding?"

The speedster in the red pajamas - 'The Flash', appearantly - spoke up, "Nah, most of them have no sense of humor anyway."

Behind his mask, Spider-Man's eyes narrowed, "Let's see; you attack me before even trying to find out what happened, you hunted me through your space station like some kind of animal, _went into my mind without permission_..."

Spider-Man leveled a hard glare - noticible even with his mask on - at the green guy they called 'J'onn' when he listed that one, "Unmask me - something you should know is a definite no-no between masked crimefighters, went into my mind _again_, took my stuff and studied it... and you think just letting me in your little club will make it all better? Are you incurably deluded or does it just come and go?"

For all the cold and emotionless nature that he'd been accused of having, Batman was also a student of psychology and human nature as part of his ongoing fight; Superman's secret identity was a top reporter at one of the world's largest newspapers; The Flash, despite his seemingly childish attitude towards everything, was a police forensics scientist; J'onn's primary identity for moving about Earth undetected when he needed to was that of a private investigator; over all, the majority of the Justice League knew enough about reading people to know when the smart thing to do was to back off and give someone space and time.

Diana, outcast princess of Thymiscira and the heroine known to 'Man's World' as Wonder Woman was not one of them, unfortunately. Her royal upbringing on the hidden isle of Thymiscira, also known as 'Paradise Island', under the known protection of the Olympian goddesses had left her with a certain imperial attitude towards the world around her that rubbed many people that encountered her the wrong way. And after years of being the target of J. Jonah Jameson's bile, police officers who considered anyone with super-powers to be a threat, and just about every super-powered criminal or would-be world conquerer whose ambitions brought them to New York, Spider-Man didn't put up well with superior attitudes - well, except for Captain America's, but Cap was an American Icon and such a nice guy most times that even when he got on his star-spangled soapbox, you just had to like and respect the guy. Despite the red-white-and blue color scheme, Wonder Woman was most definitely not Captain America. When she started speaking, the first thing that came to Spider-Man's mind was 'preaching to the savages'. It was the same tone of speech that he'd heard Xavier use when talking about 'Peaceful Human-Mutant Co-Existance) and Magneto use with 'Mutant Destiny', he'd heard it dozens of times from Doctor Doom - even without Reed Richards around to set the Latvarian dictator off... actually, Richards had used that tone plenty of times himself, too... hell, half the time it was Tony Stark's preferred way of speaking to someone - as though they were less intelligent than him and they should feel grateful that he's taking the time to explain a concept that any person should be able to grasp.

"Okay," Spider-Man interrupted her, "Let me put it to you as simply as I know how; After what I've seen, I've got two words for what you can do with your 'Justice Friends' and your offer, and they rhyme with 'Puck Cough'."

Diana gasped in shock at the impertinance, Green Lantern glowered at the disrespect, Superman frowned at the rudeness of what Spider-Man was implying... Batman managed to suppress the sudden urge of his mouth to twitch in the faintest hint of a smile. Spider-Man looked at The Flash, the only one that he could see who hadn't grown arrogant with his power and being part of this 'Justice League'.

"Look, Little Red Running Hood, you seem to be the smart one here," Spider-Man informed him, "Just drop me off in some major U.S. city and I'll take care of myself from there."


	2. Issue 1

Author's Note: The 365 Project is an experimental _multi-fandom_ project to write and post at least one short every day for the next year, not including my semi-regular bi-weekly updates. For more details, see the relevent section in my profile. This is The 365 Project, 18 July.

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Clemens... "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."

Disclaimer: "Spider-Man" is the property of Marvel Entertainment and "Justice League" of DC and Warner Brothers, used for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

-o0O0o-

"Spider Solo"  
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

-o0O0o-

* * *

His name was Peter Parker, and he had been called many things; amazing, spectacular and annoying all came to mind. He was a man who had lost everything, even his universe. Now, he found himself in a world-not his own with no way home and no existance of which to speak; no records, no family, no home. All he'd had when he arrived in this world were his costume and his brains. Fortunately for him, he knew how to survive with both. With the help of the compact camera he always carried, even in costume, and the unwilling assistance of one of Central City's local criminal element, he had gone back to his roots and gotten some good photographs of Spider-Man stopping a crime; petty criminals like muggers, it seemed, were the same in any world. Already, there were rumors and talk on the streets about the new crimefighter in red and blue. That was good for him, that meant that newspapers would be wanting pictures of the mysterious newcomer. Standing on a sidewalk in a set of civilian clothes that he had borrowed from The Flash, Peter looked up at the name of '_Picture News_' on the building.

"Well," Peter muttered to himself, "Here we go again..."

* * *

-o0o-

The editor of the _Picture News_ laid the photographs the younger man had handed him down on his desk and looked at him for a moment, using all of his experience in digging for the truth that he'd gotten working in the newspaper industry for most of his life to study him, looking for any sign that the other man was attempting to scam him and his paper. Finally, after a few moments of thought, he spoke.

"If you're looking for a job, son, you're hired. Some new hero or not, these are some of the best photos I've seen since... well, for a long time, anyway."

Peter rubbed the back of his head, nervously, "Thanks for the offer, but I'm not from around here. I'm just kind of... wandering at the moment."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," the editor shook his head, "Just can't seem to find good photogs or reporters these days. Wandering, huh? Well, a stringer's always a good thing to have, even if they are freelance. Wherever you happen to take them, you keep us in mind for any pictures you want to sell and I'll see about giving you a good price for them, how about that?"

"What kind of price were you thinking?" Peter asked.

The editor picked one of the photographs back up and looked at it, "Like you said, you're not from here, I've never heard of you... but you've got skill with a camera, son, and lots of it. There's five photos here, we'll say six hundred for the set.

Six hundred for the set meant one twenty-five per photo, and it caused Peter to blink, "Um... wow... Don't take this the wrong way, but aren't you overpaying me for this?"

The editor laid the photo down with a nod, leaning back in his chair to smile at Peter, "Probably, but I've found that the better I pay independents, the better my chances are of scooping other papers like the _Gotham Post_ or White's _Planet. _If spending a little money can make the _Picture_ a lot more of it, well..."

He shrugged.

Peter ended up walking out of the _Picture News_ offices with six hundred dollars to get him started on trying to find a new life in this new world in which he found himself.

* * *

-o0O0o-

Author's Note: Short and relatively weak, I know... I'm still trying to find my direction for this story, so it might be a little rudderless for a bit. I am wondering what people think of the cover, though...


	3. Issue 2

Author's Note: The 365 Project is an experimental _multi-fandom_ project to write and post at least one short every day for the next year, not including my semi-regular bi-weekly updates. For more details, see the relevent section in my profile. This is The 365 Project, 26 July.

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Clemens... "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."

Disclaimer: "Spider-Man" is the property of Marvel Entertainment and "Justice League" of DC and Warner Brothers, used for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

-o0O0o-

"Spider-Solo"

By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

-o0O0o-

* * *

Even with the beer in his hand bought and paid for, Peter Parker wasn't inclinded to drink it. It would be too easy for one drink to become two, two to become five, ten, more, all in a vain attempt to dull the feelings of pain and loss that filled him. He didn't want that. He'd seen the effects of alcoholism too many times. Other heroes might save the world, but most of them weren't out patrolling the streets, they weren't the ones who responded to situations summoned by the oldest method, older than any supercomputer surveillance system or government connections; the individual's cry for help. Sometimes it was a mugger or purse snatcher, sometimes a robber or burgler, other times things far worse... some of them he tried not to think about, but others he did his best to remember. Especially all the times that had ended with a moment of grim comraderie between him and the police; cases of domestic violence were something to which no one in their right mind enjoyed responding; cases where people got drunk and violent, beat their partner, their children... not just men, but women also did it. Cases where someone had to explain to little Billy or Susie why they had to go stay with a relative because one parent was going to the hospital and the other was going with the police. Cases where an overwrought parent had to be assured that their child would be okay, that the bruises and cuts would heal, that doctors could fix the damage. Cases where he'd shared a knowing look with the police officer when they wiped the fingerprints off of a gun and put it in the hand where it should have been when the killing shot had been fired.

Peter looked at the bottle in his hand and sighed, it really was probably too much to hope that this new world would be any different in that regard. There were so many ways this world _was_ different; mutants - or rather Meta-humans, since despite the larger number of people with powers, there seemed to be no one defining gene that could be pointed to as the source as there was in his home world - seemed to be generally accepted, the heroes seemed to be more known to the public and supported by them, though criminals and would-be conquerers seemed at the same time more willing to kill innocents on whims and didn't fear the heroes like they had back home... Almost all the heroes here seemed to have the same 'forgiveness' streak that Professor Xavier had and those that didn't were treated almost like pariahs. It wasn't like there were any Wolverines or Punishers who would put an end to them permanently, so they usually just took a jail vacation to plan out their next series of crimes before breaking out and going for them. It wasn't that he liked Castle or even agreed with the guy - considering that they'd met when Castle was hunting Spider-Man to 'punish' him for the death of Gwen Stacy, no one could blame Peter for the fact that he didn't exactly have any warm and fuzzy feelings towards the man - but if he'd known then what he knew now, for example, he might just have let Octavius kill Norman Osborne, it would have saved Peter himself a lot of 'Goblin' trouble later on...

And his daughter and 'brother' might still be alive, Aunt May might still be alive, and he might still be in his own world. All if Norman Osborne had never gotten the chance to live long enough to become the Green Goblin. It was a thought that ranked alongside letting his powers go to his head and 'looking out for number one' instead of stopping the criminal that ran past him like the TV station's security had called out for him to do... the criminal that would later go on to kill his Uncle Ben. He hadn't needed to do anything more than just trip the guy so that the guard could catch up, but he had been so angry at the world for treating him like second-best at the time, like the world had been against him... Some people would say Peter had tempted Fate, taunted the world into showing him what it was really like to have the world against him. That had been his lift for the next few years, every time it seemed he had something good going for him, it was painfully ripped away until the only thing left to lose was the world around him, the places he knew, the people he tried to help... then that, too, was taken from him. All he had now was a stringer job that paid cash, a two-hundred dollars a month apartment that asked no questions, and a beer that cost too much and he wasn't sure he really wanted anyway...

Peter suddenly threw the bottle across the wall, taking a certain amount of satisfaction in the sound of it shattering when it hit.


	4. Issue 3 : Central Cityfight!

Author's Note: The 365 Project is an experimental _multi-fandom_ project to write and post at least one short every day for the next year, not including my semi-regular bi-weekly updates. For more details, see the relevent section in my profile. This is The 365 Project, 9 August.

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Clemens... "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."

Disclaimer: "Spider-Man" is the property of Marvel Entertainment and "Justice League" of DC and Warner Brothers, used for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.

Author's Note: To answer a question I was PM'd; at the moment, Spidey is still wearing his classic red-and-blue costume. I haven't yet found the proper time for the costume from the cover to be created and him to start wearing it. At a guess, it will probably happen after his first good-sized defeat in the DC universe.

* * *

-o0O0o-

"Spider-Solo"  
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

-o0O0o-

* * *

In the month since his arrival, the citizens of Central City had grown as used to the sight of Spider-Man swinging through the air overhead as they had to The Flash speeding past them on the ground. If anything, it didn't so much make the man behind the web-patterned mask more comfortable as it made the realisation ever greater that this world and its attitudes were not the world he called home. It was a sad fact of his life that he was more familiar with police taking potshots at him as he swung away from stopping a crime than with the idea of them welcoming him to a crime scene with a relieved 'Thank God you're here'. It was almost enough to make a guy wander around on foot, no matter how much quicker webslinging was. He wasn't expecting to swing around a corner and end up having to launch a webline to pull himself to the other side of the street to avoid being hit by a thrown car.

"Okay," Spider-Man shook his head as he crouched on the side of the building he'd pulled himself to, "Whoever threw that is _so_ grounded."

Looking around, he found himself blinking at the sight of The Flash in the middle of a fight with a giant gorilla.

"Yep, grounded," Spidey muttered to himself, "No bananas for a week!"

A couple of quick webswings brought him into a position overhead of the two combatants who were so caught up in their fight that neither one had yet to notice him.

"Hey, Little Red Running Hood!" Spider-Man called out, causing both of them to look up at him, "You never told me the circus was in town!"

"Grr! Another smart-mouthed superhero? No matter," the gorilla snarled, "Once I've dealt with the both of you, there will be no one for Solovar to call for aid and Gorilla City will be mine for the taking!"

Spider-Man dropped off the building and did a flip to land on his feet next to The Flash, "Gorilla City? What is this guy, a zoo escapee?"

"Long story," Flash retorted.

Spider-Man shrugged, "Isn't it always?"

"Usually," the 'Scarlet Speedster' agreed.

Grodd was furious, the greatest mind and most powerful telepath ever to come from Gorilla City and he was being ignored in favor of some wall-crawler. Picking up another nearby car, he lifted it into the air with the full intent of bringing it down on their heads, only to be surprised with the wall-crawler raised up his hands and despite Grodd's gorilla strength kept him from moving it.

"You know, it's polite to at least have introductions before you try to squish a Spider-Man," the wall-crawler quipped, "You could at least tell me your name... so I can pass it along to the zookeeper when I take you back to the zoo, huh?"

"I am called Grodd," the gorilla answered, "Not that it will matter to you for much longer, 'Spider-Man'."

"Yep, straight out of the 'Bad Guy Cliche Comment Book'," Spider-Man remarked, "You won't believe the number of times I've heard that... speaking of time, any time now would be nice here, Flash, for whatever it is you're planning to do with the Grape Ape here..."

Grodd snorted in anger and increased the pressure he was exerting to force the car downward, "How dare you mock Grodd, human..."

"I have not yet begun to mock!" Spider-Man was beginning to feel the strain of holding up the car against the gorilla's counterforce, but he looked at Grodd and continued, "If I were mocking you, I'd say things like this; your favorite flavor of ice cream is - no, wait, don't tell me, let me guess - Chunky Munky?"

In the middle of drawing back his fist, Flash suddenly stopped and commented, "Why have I never thought of that one?"

"Insipid humans," the super-gorilla snarled.

"Seriously, 'insipid'? Why is it always 'insipid' or 'foolish', 'annoying', things like that? Do you non-human supervillain types have some kind of bingo game going on or some sheet of buzzwords you pass around for times like this?"

Grodd narrowed his eyes at Spider-Man, "I will enjoy crushing you as much as The Flash and Solova...ar..."

As Grodd lost consciousness, his grip on the car loosened and he fell to the ground next to where Flash stood shaking his hand.

"Even if I can punch him a hundred times before he can blink," the Scarlet Speedster muttered, "I still cannot get over how hard that guy's head is... ice pack, I really need an ice pack..."

"That," Spider-Man observed as he carefully sat the car he was still holding down on its own four tires., "was almost, dare I say it, too easy..."

"Grodd's a genius and he knows it," Flash explained, "Which means he plans things out, but doesn't always know what to do when something he hasn't planned for happens."

"Like friendly old Spider-Man being in your neighborhood," Spider-Man joked, putting a new twist on one of his classic quips.

"Yeah, about that," Flash remarked as he leaned back against the car and folded his arms, "Don't take this the wrong way, but how long are you planning on sticking around?"

"In that big a hurry to get rid of me?"

"After helping with Grodd? For all I care, you can stick around as long as you want," Flash answered, "But the thing is, the longer you're here in Central City... or somewhere like Gotham, Metropolis or Coast City, the odds get lower against you running into someone else from the League. Now I know we get along okay, at least I think we have been, and I think Bats has a little respect for you since he doesn't like or trust the League any more than you do... but, well, you and the rest of the League, none of you actually seemed to make a good impression on each other and..."

Spider-Man waved a hand, "Say no more; believe me, I understand. Right now I'm probably a sore spot and you're suggesting that I make myself a little scarce so it doesn't end up starting some kind of civil war in your Justice Friends, I got you. It's cool. I finally got my new identity put together, so I was gonna hit the road soon anyway."

"It's nothing personal," Flash replied, then asked, "Hitting the road, huh? Headed back to, where was it you're from? New York?"

Behind his mask, Spider-Man grimaced. The last place he wanted to go at the moment was New York and see all the familiar sights that would remind him of what he'd lost or worse, all the places that weren't the same as the New York he knew, the places that would only reinforce the fact that this wasn't his home.

"Actually," Spider-Man answered, "I was thinking of heading west for a while, see what's out that way."

"Well, like I said, you might want to give Coast City a miss, that's GL's stomping grounds," Flash commented before sticking out a hand, "But any time you're back in Central City, feel free to look me up, okay?"

Spider-Man looked at The Flash for a moment before taking and shaking his hand.

"Okay."


	5. Issue 4 : Walkabout

Author's Note: The 365 Project is an experimental _multi-fandom_ project to write and post at least one short every day for the next year, not including my semi-regular bi-weekly updates. For more details, see the relevent section in my profile. This is The 365 Project, 14 August.

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Clemens... "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."

Disclaimer: "Spider-Man" is the property of Marvel Entertainment and "Justice League" of DC and Warner Brothers, used for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.

Author's Note: To answer two questions/comments that I recieve frequently;  
First answer; this is a mixed/neutral DC universe drawing on elements from the Justice League cartoon, the Silver Age comics and the Post-Crisis/Pre-Infinite Crisis 'modern age' comics, so some things may seem out of place if viewed from a singular continuity point of view (I.E. Central and Keystone Cities are on different Earths, not sister cities in Kansas and Missouri; Green Lantern operates out of Coast City despite not being Hal Jordan, Metropolis is further from Gotham and closer to Smallville like it is in "Smallville", things like that.)

Second Answer; there are no plans for Peter to end up in a romantic relationship with anyone. Not Supergirl, not Batgirl, not Wonder Girl... not anyone. Considering that the last three women he's been involved with have been killed (Gwen), divorced him (Mary-Jane) or he could never really trust them (Felicia), he's not exactly looking for love any time soon.

* * *

-o0O0o-

"Spider-Solo"

By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

-o0O0o-

* * *

Peter Parker wasn't exactly sure where he was - even less sure since this wasn't his home dimension - but if he had to guess, he was probably somewhere around Colby, and he'd even managed to avoid making any bad cheese jokes to distract himself from his nervousness. Being bitten by that radioactive spider had done many things to him; his running speed was somewhere in the neighborhood of a good fastball, he lifted cars like some guys benchpressed weights, and he had a Spider-Sense that warned him of danger... he also had developed a minor case of agoraphobia; he had become so used to climbing up the sides of buildings and web-swinging from tall objects that the wide-open fields of Kansas made him uncomfortable. Even discounting New York, he could have gone to any large city; Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, ones he had never heard of before like Hub City or New Carthage...

But he remembered Ben, how conflicted his 'brother' had been when he had left New York... the way when Ben came back he was at peace, even telling Peter that it didn't matter if they had the same memories of the past, they each created their own future. He hadn't even turned it on Peter when he had his crisis of confidence and quit being Spider-Man; Ben had just picked up and took care of New York for the both of them, as Spider-Man and then when Peter regained his sense of self, Ben had been there fighting by his side as the Scarlet Spider. If traveling the country could help Ben Reilly, it could help Peter Parker, he had decided, even if it wasn't the same country. Really, it sounded so much better that way than 'running away from his problems' when Peter thought about it. He wasn't running from his problems if he was looking for answers, right?

Peter shook his head, that was just an excuse and he knew it. Maybe things would look different when he reached the Rockies. At least surrounded by mountains and forests he wouldn't feel so exposed.

"Seriously," he muttered to himself, "I feel like the hitchhiker-victim from every bad horror and serial killer movie ever made walking out by the road like this..."


	6. Issue 5 : Man, Oh, Manhunter

Author's Note: The 365 Project is an experimental _multi-fandom_ project to write and post at least one short every day for the next year, not including my semi-regular bi-weekly updates. For more details, see the relevent section in my profile. This is The 365 Project, 30 August.

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Clemens... "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."

Disclaimer: "Spider-Man" is the property of Marvel Entertainment and "Justice League" of DC and Warner Brothers, used for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

-o0O0o-

"Spider-Solo"  
'Man, Oh, Manhunter'  
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

-o0O0o-

DC +53,  
Middleton, Colorado.

It was like the city didn't know whether it wanted to be a major metropolis or a small town, that had been the first thing which Peter Parker had noticed when he had walked into Middleton. There were buildings five and ten stories high, high enough to swing from, surrounded by lower three, two, and even one story buildings. For someone who had spent most of his life among Brooklyn neighborhoods and Manhattan skyscrapers, there seemed to be no rhyme nor reason to it. The second thing that occurred to him was that he'd been walking for what seemed like weeks and the park he had been standing next to looked like the perfect place to sit and take a load off for a while - there had even been a hot dog cart. Hot dogs were a guilty pleasure and one of the few good memories he had left of his New York; the average New York hot dog vendor didn't even blink when a costumed guy dropped out of the sky, bought a couple dogs and web-lined up to the side of a nearby building to eat them. It wasn't so dramatic this time when Peter bought a couple dogs for lunch - chili, cheese and onion topping them both - by simply walking up to the cart and then walking off to sit on a bench and eat his lunch. After he had finished, Peter leaned back and relaxed in the midday sun, slowly drifting off to sleep...

* * *

-o0o-

Later that day...

"Alright, buddy, in you go,"

Peter shook his head as he walked past the uniformed officer holding the door open and into the headquarters of the Middleton Police Department, his wrists in handcuffs, wondering to himself if talking like that was something cops learned at the police academy, because no matter where he seemed to go, there were always cops that had the same speech patterns and mannerisms.

"What do you have, Peters?" the officer at the booking desk looked up and asked.

"Vagrancy, Reid," the uniform that had brought Peter into the station answered, "Found him sleeping in the park with no proof of residence or employment."

"Well, let's get started then," Reid remarked before looking at Peter, "Name?"

Peter sighed, "Peter Parker."

A nearby plainclothes detective looked up when Peter said his name.

"It's alright, Jim," the Detective raised a hand, "I know Mister Parker, he's no vagrant - I'll take responsibilty for him."

"If you're sure, John," the uniformed officer shrugged and began to undo Peter's cuffs.

"Whatever you say, Jones," the booking officer nodded, "You can take it up with the Chief."

"I'll talk to him," Jones agreed, "Come on, Peter, let's head back outside."

Peter frowned, but wasn't going to question his good luck - at least not openly - and nodded to John as he walked out the door that the detective opened for him and into the parking lot where the department's patrol cars sat.

When the door had shut behind them, Peter turned to face the detective and narrowed his eyes in suspicious, "No offense, but... I don't think I've ever seen you before."

"Not like this, you are correct," John replied, "Last time we met, you thought I looked... sea-sick."

Peter's eyes widened as recognition dawned...

* * *

-o0o-

_He'd gotten Angel's girl-counterpart with some of the 'impact webbing' that his 'brother' Ben had come up with all of those years ago, she'd been too distracted charging him with that mace and when she swung to knock the ball of webbing out of her way, she caused it to activate and caught herself in a web. Unfortunately for Spider-Man, she had distracted him just long enough for that guy that looked like a seasick Xavier to knock him out with some kind of mental whammy._

* * *

-o0o-

This was the same guy that, while Peter had been unconscious, the 'Justice League' had let rummage around in his head with no regard for privacy and personal space to make themselves feel safe because he had appeared in their 'Watchtower' space station and managed to put most of them down when they had immediately tried to take him prisoner instead of actually talking to him.

"If you think this is some kind of apology for what you did," Peter's expression was a hard one, "Forget it, that's not something that can be made up for so easily."

"I understand," John bowed his head, accepting the rebuke for his earlier actions, "This is not an attempt to make an apology that cannot be made. Rather, this is a gesture of thanks for what you have, without intending to, done for me."

"Okay," Peter blinked, "Gotta say, you've lost me there."

"The incident on the Watchtower made me realise that I continue to follow Martian practices without regard to the differences with human society," John admitted, "Batman has made his distaste for my tendency towards telepathy known on multiple occasions, but his secretive nature made it difficult to apply his beliefs to humanity as a whole... it took a human from a completely different universe saying the same things to make me stop and reconsider my stance on the matter. It also had the effect of making me realise that I lack experience dealing with humans on their own terms; not as the 'Manhunter from Mars', but as one of them."

"So you decided to become a police detective in Colorado?" Peter folded his arms, "How did you even pull that off, anyway? It's been less than two months and I know they have all kinds of training to take and background checks to go through... and no offense, I bet listing Utopia Planitia under birthplace would probably raise some eyebrows at the department."

"Actually, my place of birth would be closer to what humans call Syria Planum."

Peter raised an eyebrow, "You know I was joking, right?"

"Without telepathy," John said more to himself than to Peter, "Human humor is sometimes a difficult thing which to grasp."

"Well, anyway," Peter sighed, "Thanks for keeping me out of jail. I guess this is a good sign that I need to get moving again."

As Peter started to turn away, John spoke and stopped him, "Actually, I was going to offer my residence for you to stay at while you are in Middleton. I've found myself... intrigued by your perceptions of myself and the other members of the Justice League and would like to discuss them with you, if you are willing."

"And if I'm not, what?" Peter asked suspiciously, "Back to jail?"

"No," John answered, understanding why Peter would be distrustful of his intentions - upon reflection, he had not provided a favorable impression when they had met prior, "You are free to leave if you wish, it is not contingent upon my request..."


	7. Issue 5 : Point and Counterpoint of View

Author's Note: The 365 Project is an experimental _multi-fandom_ project to write and post at least one short every day for the next year, not including my semi-regular bi-weekly updates. For more details, see the relevent section in my profile. This is The 365 Project, 05 September.

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Clemens... "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."

Disclaimer: "Spider-Man" is the property of Marvel Entertainment and "Justice League" of DC and Warner Brothers, used for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

-o0O0o-

"Spider-Solo"  
'Point and Counterpoint of View'  
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

-o0O0o-

* * *

DC +59,  
Middleton, Colorado.

Peter Parker set down in a chair in the apartment of Detective John Jones, it had been almost a week since the Middleton Police Detective had kept Peter from being arrested on charges of vagrancy and despite taking him up on his offer of room and board for a while, Peter still wasn't sure he trusted the Martian Manhunter, even in this human identity. It wasn't that J'onn J'onzz was green - that actually reminded him of Bruce and Jen when he thought about it - or even that he was an alien. The truth was that Peter wasn't entirely comfortable around J'onn for the same reason he was never really at ease around Xavier or Jean Grey; sure, they _said_ they didn't read minds without permission, but considering that he'd been keeping secrets since he was fifteen, he was a little leary around telepaths. Especially ones that had already knocked him out and read his mind once.

It was bad enough that Logan couldn't keep his nose to himself, at least the feral Canadian could keep a secret.

As it were, Peter's timing was almost perfect as about when he managed to set settled, the door opened and John entered the apartment. He waited until the human-disguised Martian had hung up his coat and walking into the living area before he spoke, however.

"Are you ready to have that talk?"

"I believe a more appropriate question may be to ask if you are ready," John replied.

"Is anyone ever ready for this kind of talk?" Peter asked rhetorically as John walked across the room and took a seat on the couch facing him, "But... I suppose since it seems I'm going to be here in your world for a while, it'll help keep confrontations between me and the natives down if some of you have some kind of idea where I stand on things."

"A reasonable conclusion," John agreed, "Some of the remarks you made two months ago have... not been taken well by those at whom they were directed."

"First, you have to understand my life," Peter held up a hand, "I know you got the basics back on that space station, but let me tell it, okay?"

* * *

-o0o-

_You know, for the record, most people actually think I'm joking when I tell them I got my powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider. I was fifteen and attending a science exhibition on 'Experiments in Radioactivity' - that's the kind of thing you do when you're in high school and the best thing most people can say about you is that you're a 'professional wallflower' - what no one knew was that a spider had gotten into one of the exhibits and been... changed by the radiation. That spider bit me and I started to feel light-headed..._

_I walked out of the exhibition hoping that some fresh air would help, but all that happened was I started to feel nauseated. Then a car came speeding towards me and I avoided it by jumping out of the way; and when I say 'jumping out of the way', I don't mean jumping back a foot or two, I mean I jumped fifteen or twenty feet in the air and found myself sticking to the side of a building. After a few minutes of panic, I managed to get control of myself and found that I could now scale a wall with my bare hands as easily as I could walk, crush steel pipes like they were aluminum cans, balance on wires better than any circus tightrope walker. I was actually headed home when I saw a sign where a professional wrestler was offering money to any amatuer who could last three minutes in the ring with him and I thought it was a good chance to test my new abilities, I rushed home and improvised a disguise, then went back; I didn't last three minutes, I actually had him yielding in less than that. I was approached by a television producer who offered me a deal to perform on a variety show..._

_My Aunt May and Uncle Ben had raised me, they were the only parents I had ever really known, but they weren't exactly well off, even a little bit of money would help, so I took the deal. I named myself 'Spider-Man' and I made my first costume and web-shooters to help my act and - and I enjoyed it, I actually liked performing in front of an audience; after years of being taunted and teased, ignored and bullied in school, people were cheering for me, they liked me, it was an... intoxicating feeling. Too intoxicating. The fame went to my head on the very first night and when a security guard shouted for someone to stop a thief, I just let them run past me into an elevator; I thought I was through being pushed around, that I could just look out for number one... just me, my Aunt and Uncle and everyone else could go hang..._

* * *

-o0o-

The pain and sadness was clearly visible on Peter's face at this point.

"There is no need to continue if this affects you so badly, Peter," John cautioned.

"I can tell it," Peter answered, "It's just, this next part, it's probably the hardest part to face, even after all these years..."

* * *

-o0o-

_I performed night after night on live television, I was a sensation, I was spectacular. Everyone thought I was amazing... Then it all changed one night that I'll never forget for as long as I live, never; it's one of those times that become permanently seared into your brain. I was coming home from another performance when I saw the police and emergency vehicles parked at my house; there had been a burglar, he was armed, my Uncle Ben had surprised him, the burglar shot him and ran, took shelter in an old warehouse. The police couldn't get to him... But Spider-Man could, and did, I fought him in the dark warehouse and knocked him out. I was carrying him out to where the police would be able to find him when I saw something that shook me down to my core..._

* * *

-o0o-

"The robber I let go free when I could have stopped him, the man who murdered my uncle," Peter looked John straight in the eyes, "They were the same person. I could have stopped him before, but because of my pride... my arrogance... I lost the closet thing I had to a father, something that I can never forgive myself for. And that was just the beginning; my actions in catching the man who had killed him cause newspapers to begin labeling me a public menace. I could have handled it if all the support and fame my television work had brought simply dried up, but it turned into suspicion and infamy; there were even people who claimed that 'Spider-Man' and the burglar had been partners and had a falling out is why Spider-Man left him for the cops... After Uncle Ben died, I tried to do good and help people, to stop burglars and muggers, to try to make up for my actions, but the more I tried to do good, the more things I found myself being blamed for; sabotage, robberies, arson, anything anyone ever saw me near, they tried to blame on me... It went on for years..."

Peter sighed, "It only got worse when someone started to impersonate me to commit crimes and ended up killing a retired New York Police Captain. They were finally caught and I was cleared, but the woman I was involved with developed a hatred for Spider-Man and anything having to do with him after that... One of my enemies learned my real identity and used her to get to me, he threw her off a bridge and when I tried to save her..."

Peter's face fell into his hands, "I caught her with a webline, but the force of it, it broke her neck - I killed her..."

"Peter, I - "

"I've been possessed by an alien symbiote, turned into a monster by out of control genetic mutations, I've been cloned," Peter cut John off, "Watched as I've seen the clone that became my brother killed and lost my unborn daughter that same night. I've had more seperations from my wife than anyone should go through until she finally decided to make it permanent and divorced me. I've watched friends die and nearly died myself. Someone I sometimes consider a mentor and at other times an inspiration once told me that I have a better understanding of what it means to be human than most because I've had to face the mortality of myself and others more than most... Considering that he was an icon and he'd lost his entire world by that time, I wasn't going to argue with him, especially considering that he was also probably the most honest man alive - I'm not even sure Cap could tell a white lie if it was gonna save his life..."

"I guess part of my problem is you've all got powers," Peter remarked, "And don't try to tell me Batman doesn't have powers, just from the attitude I can tell he's used to people doing what he says and that's a kind of power all its own. Seven of you, all with great power, sitting above the Earth like you're above everyone else; who keeps you honest? Who reminds you of the everyday people down below? Who stands up to say something's wrong? Who -"

Peter brought his fist down on the arm of the chair to emphasis his point, "Who is there to stop you if you ever become a threat? And don't try to tell me each other, either. You call your space station 'The Watchtower', well there's an old Latin saying; 'sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes', 'Who watches the watchers'? I might sometimes have wanted to make Jameson eat his own newspaper, but I could always count on him to make sure everyone knew of any mistakes I made; who does that for your Justice League?"

John shook his head, "We are not the only beings on Earth with powers, Peter."

"You've got someone who Flash has told me can move planets," Peter corrected, "And the only thing keeping him under control is he believes in 'truth, justice and the American way'? What happens if he loses his memory somehow and forgets that? You've suddenly got an unrestrained Superman flying around. Speaking of him, Flash is a great guy, but he's faster than any security system. The only thing that can stop Green Lantern is the color yellow? And he follows the orders of some group of self-appointed lawmakers in the center of the universe, from what I've heard... what happens when these 'Guardians' tell him to put Earth under some kind of martial law? Wonder Woman has the power of gods and considers herself on some kind of sacred mission from them to 'teach Man's world'... look in some history books, John, you'll see the kind of damage that religious fanaticism can cause when the people behind it _don't _know for a fact that their gods exist, what do you think it'd be like if she and the other Amazons started a new Crusade against 'Man's world'? Who will stop Batman when he decides that stopping criminals for however long their next jail sentence is doesn't do as much good as stopping them permanently would? I've already had to deal with one 'Punisher', and trust me, they're not something I recommend having around... Have you ever stopped to consider any of this?"

John closed his eyes, his mind drifting back to the events some months ago when the Justice League had encountered another world where the death of The Flash had pushed them into doing just what Peter spoke of - all for the 'greater good', of course - and in doing so the Justice Lords had become worse villains than Lex Luthor or anyone else they had fought, "Yes, too often, in fact. And I am a shapeshifter and telepath - the ease with which I replaced the true John Jones after his murder to finish the case he was investigating proves what I could do if I so chose."

"And all of that," Peter stood up and paced a few steps, "All of that pales in comparison to what could happen if someone decides the superheroes of this world do need to be put under some kind of supervision and you rebel against it; I've already seen the results of one civil war that split a superhero community, had to watch as it destroyed friendships, teams and even families... people died, killed by old friends in some cases, over a difference in what they thought was the right thing to do... and that's a frightening thought, John... not the League against the world, but the League against itself with the world caught in the middle... So, tell me, J'onn, when the League meets to discuss the safety and future of the world, who speaks for the world? Who represents all the people who don't have powers or gadgets, who lives their lives as just everyday, normal humans?"


End file.
